Automatic tank loader for fuel trucks



Nov. 4, 1930. c. E. SPINNEY AUTOMATIC TANK LOADER FOR FUEL TRUCKS Filed Oct. 1, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet l Noy. 4, 1930. c. E. SPINNEY AUTOMATIC TANK LOADER FOR FUEL TRUCKS Filed Oct. 1, 192? 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jnyezzz ar 44mm %e viii? MMM Nov. 4, 1930. d. E. SPINNEY 1,780,605

AUTOMATIC TANK LOADER FOR FUEL TRUCKS Filed Oct. 1, 1927 Sheets-Sheet 5 3 Mm'W, @Wua 4 Patented Nov. 4, 1930 uni-van jsrATEs eann n-srnv vEYQor WEs'r Larlivnrrn, INDIANA AUTOMATIC TANK LOADER Boa ronn'rnooxs f Application filed October 1, 1927. Serial No. 223,813.

' My invention relates to improvements in automatic tank loaders for fuel trucks. The invention will be explained as embodied in "apparatus einployed forfilling the fuel 5 trucks from thestorage tanks of arefinery or refinery sub-station,

- jAnother.object-;is ftofprovide in an-automatic tank'loader means forautomatically shutting oii the iflowfo t fueltothe tank when the fuel level-reaches its inaximum height.

further objectlis to provide in an automatic tank loader selective apparatus for;

, quickly connecting various supply tanks with a common discharge tube thus making it possible to successively fee several differentffuels or/liquids through the discharge 1 tube as required in a relatively short time. I

A turtlierobject isto provide in an automatic tank loader means for draining the 1 contentsof common dischargetube'when,

not in use into one of several 'anxillary tanks 1 so as toleave'the-discharge tube inlreadiness for the conduction of other fuels or-liquids therethroughfi f A fu rther 'objectis toprovide an automatic tank loader'by use ofewhichthe fuel is con- Q5 ducted to thetan'k'}thr ough its normal disch'arge pipe-,thujsleaving that pipe filled with.

fuel when the filling operation is iinished. Other objects andadvantages vvillbe more particularly pointed out in the following speci fication and appended claims;

Anemhodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying'drawings form- 1 ing a part ofthis application, inwhich a Figure 1 is a vertical sectional View through mains'upp'lytanks and tank of a @Figure2 is an enlarged sectional .vievv'of a part of theappa'ratus illustrated in Figure 1;

, Fl 'u're 3 1s an enlar ed sectional view of a b a. a

1 part of theap'paratus illustratedin Figure o 5%5 of Figur 61;;

Figures is anell flrg d s na iew, 5

and discharge tube connections 9+9 of Figure 1 i the dischargeipipe F of the fuel tank into the tanks below; Considering but one set Figure a is'a sectional view along the line t4 fvl -i ur g 1 y V Figure 5 is a sectional view along the line parts thereof broken away, of

he an Figure 7 is an enlarged sectional vievv of he par f the a pa atu llu ed by Fi Figure ,8 1s a view similar to Figure .6 but with the valve partsopen as in filling the fuel tank; and i o .Figure 9 is a sectional view along the line In general the invention consists of refinery or "sub-station {supply tanks A and fi pne above the" other, containing fuel undefair pressure, a selector valvernechanism connectinga common discharge tube 1). with one of four sets ofitanksfA and a incl tr k n E- i s-a di a Pines a roonnecting mechanism ofspecial fconstruci "tion for connectlngtlie discharge tube '1) mechanism G emhodies a valve generally dicatedat H which is manually openedj and" whichfcloses automatically upon the actuation I of a float-din the fuel tank at maxiinnnifuel levelheig'ht. I i I a a In theordinary refinery orsubstation several sets of tanks'A and B are-housed in structures 10 over hich-railway tank'cars travel upon rails '11 and discharge their contents Of e t A' nd Bias hoWn F Hm th upper or tank Aisconnected by passage 12 withtzinkliithere being a shut-'ofijy a lve 13 for isolating the tanks from" one another.

(bmpiessed a r s a mit d t t tanlssA an B- h'w g' pa ag 1 @9 5 peeti ely si that'fuelisforced into tank Bby application O ompr s d i a l W e -t a v lEiQi open and the dischargeof fuel from tank 13 through its discharge pipe l6-is hastened upon o 9 the "application of air under pressure at 15" with valve 13 closed.

The, selector valve mechanism 0 for connecting the flexible discharge tube D wlth one ot' sever al sets} in the present illustrationthere l are but four contemplated, consists in a valve casing 20 connected by passages 21 with discharge pipe 16 of tank A and pipes 22, 23 and 24 from other tanks not shown which may contain, for the purpose of illustration, high test gasoline, furnace oil and kerosene respec-. tively, whereas tank- B illustrated in Figure 1 may contain ordinary gasoline.

A rotatable sleeve shut-off valve 25 is disposed within casing C and has four openings 26 therethrough, each of which register with one of the passages 21 simultaneously, when sleeve 25 is rotated as by manipulation of an arm 80 extending radially from the outer end of the valve sleeve.

A selector valve sleeve 32 is closely fitted and rotatable within valve sleeve 25 and has valve sleeve32 is rotated by means of manual manipulation of an arm 34,extending radially from the sleeve at a point adjacent to lever 30. Valve sleeve 32 is connected by a union to flexible discharge tube D.

.The opposite end of discharge tube D is connected by a coupling member to afuel tank'no'zzle connecting member ofspecial construction which consists of a cylindrical body 41 adapted to fit within the discharge 9 nozzle 42 of the fuel tank E andto beheld there in place by a connecting ring 43 by bayonet connecting members 44. Rotation of ring 43 in opposite directions serves to fasten and 7 release the parts respectively.

Cylinder 41 is further provided at its outermost end with a circular valve seat 48 for receiving a valve 49 carried upon a stem 50 mounted for reciprocable movement longitudinally of cylinder 41 and yieldingly held upon its seat 48 by a-compression spring 51 one end of which bears upon a transverse pin' 9 52 carried at the outer end of stem50 and at Chamber 60 has a valve 62 disposed therein which is carriedby a longitudinal reciprocable rack 63, the teeth 64 ofthe rack being in mesh'with a'pinion 65 sothat rotation of the pinion will cause longitudinal movement of the rack to move valve 62 toward and away from its seat 65. Seat 65 is formed at the innermost end of discharge nozzle 42. A com pressio-n spring 66 disposed concentric with 'fixed upon a shaft 70'Whi'ch'is rotatably the rack 63 serves to urge valve 62 toward seat 65.. j j

WVith reference to Figure 9, pinion 65' is mounted in an upper portion of chamber 60 and which has an externally extending part 71, angular in cross-section, for engagement with a socket wrench or crank 72 by means of which pinion 65 may be rotated by rotating shaft 70.

Valves 49 and 62 are automatically interconnected upon the projection of cylinder 41 within nozzle 42 and turn in a clockwise direction. This is because valve 49 has a pair of diametrically opposed loops 7 8 on its outer face and valve 62 has a pair of registering hook members 74 for engaging with loops 7 3 of valve 49. Thus, upon movement of valve 62 valve 49 will follow at all times when the discharge tube D is connected with discharge pipe F as described.

Upon filling tank E the operator will elevate valve 62 by rotation of shaft 70 with crank 72 engaged at 71 with shaft 70 until the apparatus assumes the position shown in Figure 8. Shaft 70 has a notch on its outersurface which engages With the tooth 81 of a pivotally mounted dog 82 so that the dog normally prevents rotation of shaft 70 in a counter-clockwise direction, 1; e., that direction which the shaft rotates upon the plunger rod "84 carried by'a piston 85 by gravity which is disposed within a cylinder 86 containing a non-compressible medium such as oil. A compression spring 87 urges piston 85 inwardly of the cylinder but yields 'upon the application of pressure within the cylinder so as to permit the piston to move toward dog 82 and thus release the dog from the shaft so that the springs 51 and 66 may jointly act in closing valves 49 and 62.

Cylinder 86 is connected by a small tube 87 with a cylinder 88 having a piston 89 therethrough carriedby a float 90 the cylinder 88 is the inverted end of the tube 87.

@Float 90 (see Figure 1) is disposed within the dome 92"of fuel tank E and at the maximum fuel level height so that when fuel in tank 'E has reached that height, float 9O Wlll be lifted, thus causing piston 89 to move and increase the oil pressure in cylinder 88 and consequently cylinder 86 suflicient to move piston stand disengage dog 82'from shaft 70. This permits springs 51 and 66 to act in the manner described in closing valves 49 and 62.

In order that all of the liquid in discharge tube D may be removed from the tube prior to its use for conducting other fluids or. liquids, tube D is connected at 95 with a valve chamber 96 having a slide valve 97 therein for selectively connecting the valve chamber 96 with one of fourpassages 98 which lead to auxiliary tanks corresponding to the tanks connected with pipes 16, 22, 23 and 24*respectively. Slide valve 97 is operated by movement of a handle 99 con esa-abs nected with the valve stem 100 which registers witha marked indicator slot 101.

In operation the truck bearing fuel tank 7 E is moved to the position shown in Fig. 1 and cylinder 41 forming a part of the discharge nozzle of pipe Dis inserted within by means of arm 34 until the opening 33 therein registers with pipe 21 associated with pipe 16. He then moves arm 30 so as to causevalve sleeve 25 to move, thus registering openings 26 with pipes 21. Shut-01f valve 13 is closed and compressed air applied at 15. Shaft is then rotated by crank 72 (see Fig. 9) to elevate valve 62 and valve 49 to the position shown in Fig. 8 in the manner described.

Gasoline from tank B will thereupon be forced through delivery tube Dand discharge pipe F of tank E into tank-.E. When the level of fuel therein'reaches float J the float will move with the rising level, causing piston 89 tomove in cylinder 88 and the oil in cylinder 88, pipe 87 and cylinder 86 will be placed under pressure sufiiciently to move piston 85, thus releasing dog 82. Upon the releasing of dog 82, springs $66; and 51 both function to close valves 49 and 62 simultaneously, thus shutting ofi'theflow of gasoline into fuel tank E 7 The air pressure in tankB is then shut off, valve sleeve 25 is turned by arm 30 toshut off tube D from pipes 21 and the fuel then in'tube D is drained into one ofthe four auxiliary tanks connected with pipes 98 which is reserved for gasolineb'y manipulation of valve 97. During the tank filling procthetank, a fuel discharge tube for connecess valve 97 is elevatedso that the lower por tion of the valve closes the lower end of pipe which communicates with valve chamber 96.

Fuel from tank A is now forced into tank B to replac'ethe fuel exhausted therefrom by the opening of valve 13 and the application of compressed air at 15. Thus tank B is ready for subsequent fuel tank filling operations in the manner described.

It is apparentfrom the foregoing description of the tank filling mechanism-that the time for filling tank E may be greatly reduced over the present process for tank filling which requires watching the rising level of fuel therein and the slowing up of the fuel supply as it approaches the top of the tank.

With the present mechanism fuel may be forced into fuel tankE atniaximum speed throughout the entire filling operationgsince valves 49 and 62 close instantly upon the arrival of the fuel level at its maximum height. I claim:

level in said tank;

1. In combinatioma fuel receiving tank having adischarge nozzle, a fuel discharge tube arranged for connection' with the discharge nozzle of the receiving tank, a valve in said dischargenozzle, a valve associated with said discharge tube at that end connected with the discharge nozzle, means for interconnecting said valves, a spring .asso ciated with each valve for urging the valves into closed'position, manually operable means for opening the valves, 21: dog for holding the valves in open position, and float-operat'-' ed means in the receiving tank for releasing the dog to permit the valves-to close when the level of fuel therein reaches a predetermined height. 1 H

I 2.. The combination with atank having? a discharge nozzle and a discharge tube, means for connecting-the nozzle to the tube; a valve iiithe discharge nozzle for shutting off. the

flow of fuel therethrough, means for opening and for'closing said valve, and a valve disposed'in the adjacent end of the discharge tube arranged to inter-connectwith the valve inthe discharge nozzle whenthe tube is connected with the nozzle wherebyoperation of the firstn-amed valve causes the last named valve to move therewith and means for oper- '1n'g said valves in response to the l quid 33111" comb'nation, a fuel receiving tank, a discharge tank, a discharge nozzle for the tank-through which fuelmay'be-admitted to,

and discharged'fromthe ta'nk, a fuel discharge-tube for" connection with said nozzle, a valve in the discharge nozzle, a valve in the fuel discharge tube, and means for actuating both of said valves when the fuel in the tank reaches a predetermined level.

4. In combination, a fuel receiving tank, a discharge nozzle for the tank through which fuel may be admitted to and discharged from tion with said nozzle, a valve in said nozzle, a valve in said tube, saidvalve being in juxtaposition whereby no. fuel is intervening the valves and means forclosing both of said valves when the fuel in the tank reaches a predetermined level.

5. In combination, a

fuel receiving tank,

a discharge nozzle'for the tank through which fuel may be admitted to and discharged from the tank, a fuel discharge tube for connection with said nozzle, a valve in the discharge nozzle and a spring for normally holding close said valves in unison.

.6.'In combination with a fuel rece ving tank, a discharge nozzle for the tank through which fuel may be admitted to and discharged from the tank, a fuel discharge tube for con nectionwith said nozzle, a valve in the discharge nozzle, a valve in the discharge tube, means for normally closing said valves and latch mechanism 'for holding said valves in their open position, a cylinder for actuating said latch vmechanism in response to fluid pressure, a fluid pressure producing cylinder mounted in said tank, and means responsive tothe fuel level in said tank for producing a fluid pressure in said last mentioned cylinder thereby releasing the latch mechanism to close said valves.

7 In combination with a discharge nozzle and a discharge tube, a valve in the discharge nozzle for shutting oil the flow of fuel therethrough, a valve disposed in the adjacent end of the discharge tube, means for coupling the discharge nozzle andtube while the valves remain closed, means for opening and closing said valves while the nozzle and tube are coupled; t

8. In combination with a discharge nozzle and a discharge tube, a valve seat in the discharge nozzle, a valve seat in the discharge tube, means for coupling said nozzle and tube whereby the Valve seats are brought adjacent each other,- a valve. in said discharge nozzle, a valve in said discharge tube, and means .for interconnecting said valves whereby the opening and closing of oneof said valves will result in opening and closing of the other respectively.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 26 day of September, 1927.

, CARL E. SPINNEY. 

